September 11, 2011
Written by C.N.
Today the U.S. and the rest of the world commemorates the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many media outlets, think tanks and research institutions, organizations, and individual commentators have offered their own analyses of what transpired on that day 10 years ago and what has happened since. Like those of many Americans, my reflections are complex and even contradictory.
On the one hand, I still mourn those who suffered on that eventful day, in the years since, and continue to suffer today. I also applaud the ways in which, at least for a while, we came together as Americans, united by our fierce loyalty to fundamental principles upon which this country was founded. On the other hand, I also feel that we as Americans have given given into fear too much and that has allowed many of our institutions to inflict needless hostility against innocent people inside the U.S. and around the world.
To hopefully serve as a teaching and learning resource about the issues related to this 10th anniversary, I humbly offer the following retrospective of posts related to 9/11, the war on terrorism, and the treatment of Arab and Muslim Americans (or those perceived to be by the rest of society) since Sept. 11, 2001 (in chronological order).
- Days after the attacks, the need for unity is clear.
- Racial paranoia fed by terrorist fears leads to a sad case of racial profiling.
- A bizarre case of unsubstantiated rumors and individual revenge leads to Chinese immigrants targeted as potential terrorists.
- Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, hate crimes based on racial/ethnic or religious identity increased, but then declined. This post from 2005 analyzes why they began increasing again.
- A group of New York politicians advocate using explicit racial profiling to target Arabs and Muslims.
- Contrary to ‘official’ denials, racial profiling against Arab and Muslim Americans is still alive and well — and in fact thriving — in the U.S.
- An article by Reuters looks at where the Muslim American community stood on the five-year anniversary of 9/11.
- Looking at the sincerity and prospects of efforts by the Bush administration to reach out to Arab and Muslim Americans and improve relations with them.
- Rather than thanking them, Hmong refugees who fought alongside the U.S. in the Viet Nam War are labeled as terrorists.
- Members of both groups reflect on the unfortunate similarity of being the targets of racial profiling by their own country as it fights wars with others who look like them.
- New opinion surveys describe the public’s attitude about Muslim Americans since the 9/11 attacks.
- A new book helps young Muslim Americans in negotiating the challenging racial, religious, and cultural terrain of contemporary American society.
- A short video illustrates that, contrary to many media images, Muslim Americans want peace just as much as anybody else.
- Is it wrong for Wal-Mart to try to make more money by appealing to Muslim American customers?
- How similar and different are the views of Muslims toward the west, compared to how the west views them?
- How a recent racial attack against an Indian American symbolizes the injustices people of color have experienced through the years.
- Creating a new racial category for Arab and Middle Eastern Americans will not weaken, but strengthen America’s identity and influence.
- New academic books provide a more detailed look into the lives, experiences, successes, and challenged faced by Arab and Muslim Americans.
- In the decade of the 2000s, one issue has become the most significant factor in affecting racial/ethnic relations in the U.S.
- Special issue of Asian American Literary Review commemorates the 10th anniversary of 9/11 from the point of view of South Asians, Arabs, Middle Easterners, and Muslim Americans.
Copyright © 2001- by C.N. Le. Some rights reserved.
Suggested reference: Le, C.N. . "10th Anniversary of 9/11: An Asian-Nation Retrospective" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. <http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2011/09/10th-anniversary-911-asian-nation-retrospective/> ().
Short URL: http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/?p=1784
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